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Twins recall Nishioka from Rochester

Twins recall Nishioka from Rochester

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BOSTON -- With Danny Valencia being traded to the Red Sox for Minor League outfielder Jeremias Pineda on Sunday, the Twins recalled infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka from Triple-A Rochester to take his place on the roster.

Nishioka, 28, hit .245 with a .309 on-base percentage and .301 slugging percentage in 84 games with the Red Wings. The switch-hitter also had one homer, 13 doubles, a triple and 24 RBIs while seeing time at second base and shortstop.

But he had been hitting better recently, as he batted .298 in 27 games in July.

"Our staff says he's playing as good a baseball as he's been playing," assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "If you want to find out something about this guy, now is the time to find out. He's been playing well. So, we'll bring him up."

Nishioka, who was signed to a three-year, $9.25 million deal before last season, struggled mightily with Minnesota last year.

He hit just .226/.278/.249 with five doubles and 19 RBIs in 68 games. He missed two months early in the season after breaking his left leg on April 7, when Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher slid into him at second base.

He was optioned to Triple-A Rochester this spring, as he fell behind veteran Jamey Carroll and rookie Brian Dozier on the depth chart in the middle infield.

Nishioka will join the Twins in time for Monday's game against the Indians in Cleveland. His stay with Minnesota could be short, considering that third baseman Trevor Plouffe is expected to come off the disabled list sometime next week.

But Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Nishioka will see time in the infield this week.

"He'll be playing," Gardenhire said. "We're going to bring him up here to play and see what he can do. He went down there and did everything we've asked. He's worked very hard at the game, and out staff down there says he's playing very good baseball."